Sunday Morning Excitement

As I pulled into the church building this morning, there were herds of people hanging out in the parking lot... odd. As I parked and joined the crowd, I found out that there was a fire drill of sorts at the church. I don't know if it was truly a drill or if it was a real scare, but firemen and a ambulance showed up. It was kind of odd to experience a fire drill outside of a school setting. Suffice it to say, Church had an exciting start today!

So I told a falsehood...

So my last post saying that I am "all raced out," is apparently a lie because this blog post is a call to you all, possibly a plea, to have you all come run a race with me. Let me explain...

This race is called the PiMi. I have a friend that started this race two years ago as a way to raise money for a charity. They invited me to be a part of the team that puts on the race last year and I am now an official member of the "PiMi" team. Pi stands for the number 3.14 and Mi stands for mile, creating a 3.14 mile race... in case you hadn't put two and two together yet...

Really long number, really short race. This year there is not only a 5K, but there is also an option to do a 10K relay. I have five good reasons why you should run this race... hear me out...

Reason #1: All of the proceeds go to a charity... this year being the Women's and Children's Crisis Center. There are so many that have so much less than we do and this is a great way to help out some of those folks.

Reason #2: If you know me, you probably know a lot of my friends... many of whom have already committed to run. Yes, this includes co-workers, neighbors, friends, my chiropractor... what better race to run than one with friends!

Reason #3: Everyone needs a little motivation to get in better shape!

Reason #4: You can be a part of the elite group of people who own a t-shirt that has a "pi" symbol on the back. Everyone who sees you will think you are extra smart.

Reason #5: Consider it a birthday present...

The date of the race is Saturday, October 10th. If you are interested, check out the website to register at

thepimi.com

Hope to see you there!

All raced out...

I have participated in a ridiculous amount of races this year... my race budget has by far been surpassed. I participated in another race today... a marathon relay. I did it for the first time two years ago and quickly became hooked. This was my third year to participate and it was again a success! Last year they capped the registration to only 50 teams, but this year they let it stay open and we had 97 teams. We took first place in our category and got first place medals! It was very exciting.

However, I am a little raced out. I need a little break. It has been difficult for me to keep a very strict training schedule with school starting... I might just take a little break for a while... not from running, but from racing. Here are the pictures from all of the exchanges today.

Runner 1: Dave Kroupa
Runner 2: Jessie Jensen
Runner 3: Barry Beckstrand
Runner 4: Nick McCombs
Runner 5: Cami Larsen

Exchange 1


Exchange 2


Exchange 3


Exchange 4

First Triathlon

I completed my first triathlon up at Bear Lake last weekend... sort of. I can't take credit for completing the whole thing on my own because I had a relay team and I just did the biking portion of the race. However, it was still a triathlon and I loved it! This was the first time for me to race my road bike and I think I'm hooked.



This is Jake. He was our swimmer. He also works for Alpine School District as an English teacher and he helps in coaching the swim team. I met Jake at the grocery store a few years ago... yes, the grocery store. Jake and I became friends at Maceys!



This is Nick. He was our runner. Nick has been in my ward for the last year. He used to run for BYU and he is a phenomenal runner.

My roommate Cherise is the one who invited me to do the triathlon. She and her brother did the full Olympic on their own. I thought it would be fun to join them, so Cherise, her brother Dallas, his wife Natalie, Jake, Nick and I left for Bear Lake Friday afternoon. We stayed the night at a cabin there so that we could get to the race start nice and early. This is a photo of Jake, Cherise, Nick and I just before the swim was about to start.



For triathlons, one has to be marked. The race officials take permanent markers and write your race number on both sides of your arm. They then write your race category and age on your legs. I didn't know this was how it was done, but we thought it was really funny. Here is Cherise and I at the end, showing our team numbers. They had already started to wear off by this point.



My relay team ended up taking first out of all the other team entries! We were pretty excited. Jake had to swim 1 mile, I had to ride 25 miles and Nick had to run 6 miles. We finished in 2:21.33. We were very pleased with our time and placing, especially when we found out that we beat the second place team by 10 minutes! I want to try a sprint triathlon on my own someday, now that I know how the exchanges work and things like that. I just wish I liked to swim more. Here are a few more photos.

Here is the exchange between Jake and I. He is trying to get the timing chip off his ankle so he could pass off to me. Ironic that there is a Macey's sign in the background! Ha ha....

There I go... 25 miles to go...

Here is Cherise on the bike

Done and done...

A group shot before we took off to head home


What a great experience!

Staying Informed...

I hate the feeling of ignorance. There are so many issues and debates going on in our country that I feel I know far to little about. Last year, I had the opportunity to do some campaigning for Jason Chaffetz, the man who replaced Chris Cannon as Utah's Representative. Last week, Jason spoke at a Town Hall meeting. I invited my roommate to attend with me. It was an open question/comment session open to the public. Aside from the few heated moments (which were actually hilarious) ...I loved being there.

I love learning new things about what is going on in our country and doing my part to be informed. Cherise and I created a list of things to look up and research as topics were discussed at the meeting that we had little background information on. I hope I have more opportunities in the near future to educate myself on more important current affairs, so I can voice an opinion with the confidence that I know what I am talking about.

I hope you all do the same! It is our job to make sure we keep informed! :)

Best Friends Wedding

Wow. In another four months, Kristy and I would have been roommates for 5 years. Who would have thought? It was just happen stance that we moved in with one another in the first place, but we became great friends and have stuck together every since. It is really odd not having her around and I miss her terribly, but I couldn't be any happier for her. Here are some photos of the great day!

Every year Kristy and I lived together, we lived with two different girls. Here are three of our roommates, from three different years that we lived together.


Kristy and Ryan


Kristy and I at her reception


I have become very close to Kristy's family over the years. This is with her mom "Pearl", and her sisters Alisha and Lindsey


It rained the morning of her wedding, but we thought the umbrellas added character to the photos


After my first week back at work, having tons of company and graduating, I was a little bit tired at the wedding festivities. I feel asleep at the wedding luncheon. It's a wonder I didn't fall over, but everyone got quite a kick out of it!

"Master Jensen" Part 2

So I am now officially Master Jensen. I defended my thesis back in June, but I am now official on BYU's records as having a Master's Degree. I thought this day would never come... literally. There were times I didn't think I'd make it through, but that small little fact made graduation day even more sweet. Both of my parents came, as did three of my siblings and their families. It was a big deal for me to have family there and I am so grateful I was able to have so many loved ones there to celebrate with me.

It was especially special to have my sister there. She drove down with three kids, one of which is only 4 weeks old.


One of the professors from the Education Department


After commencement, I went to a dinner at the Hinckley Center with three other girls who graduated from my cohort.


My friend Clay also graduated. We ran into each other as we were lining up to enter the Marriott Center.


Mom got the flower lei's for me


The girls loved wearing them!


I'm so grateful for all of those who have supported me the last three years in my pursuits to get a higher education. I couldn't have done it on my own.